Arabic version: مبعوث أميركي يسعى إلى حظر أسلحة يشمل السودان بأكمله

According to BBC News, US President Donald Trump’s senior Africa envoy Massad Boulos has urged the UN Security Council to extend Sudan’s arms embargo beyond Darfur to the whole country, citing escalating drone attacks and the risk that the war could spread across the region.

Boulos said the council must stop external financial and military support, including drones and related technologies, from entering Sudan. He also proposed increasing the number of experts monitoring the embargo and called for action against external actors he said were fuelling the conflict.

The conflict, now in its fourth year, has killed tens of thousands of people and forced 14 million people from their homes. The Sudanese army controls much of the central and eastern regions, while the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is headquartered in Darfur and controls areas in the south. A country-wide embargo would require a Security Council vote, with Russia and China opposing the proposal.

UN officials told the council that fighting in recent weeks had involved heavy drone use. Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN under secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, said drones launched by both sides had struck markets, schools, fuel stations and water infrastructure. The UN documented 1,100 civilian deaths in drone strikes between January and June this year.

An embargo covering Darfur has been in place for more than two decades and is due to expire next month unless renewed or amended. As the council discussed the measure, the army was reported to have struck RSF positions in Nyala, where the airport has become a major logistics hub for the paramilitary group.